Samsung Note 4 vs. Samsung Note Edge

[dropcaps]The Samsung Note 4 and Samsung Note Edge are two spectacular devices that came to life out of the belief that yes, people do like larger phones with cool stylus pens. So they decided to come up with the Note series of smartphones, which proved to be a great financial decision. What do you do after you make a great smartphone though, just keep making it bigger and adding more software and hardware features? Well, to Samsung, the answer was to make the screen curved and make software revisions to take advantage of that design change, so out came the Samsung Note Edge. Now we stand at crossroads as to which device is better, The Samsung Note 4 or the Samsung Note Edge. The two latest iterations of the Note line.[/dropcaps]

[df-subtitle]Design[/df-subtitle]

The design of the Samsung Note 4 and Samsung Note Edge can be better described as modern, sleek and business like. Both phones have the speaker grill centered on the top of the screen with the Samsung brand right below it. Moving to the right you get the light sensor, LED indicator and front facing the camera. On the bottom, you are greeted with the capacitive recent apps and return keys and the physical home button right in between them. The only real difference between the phones is the curved edge that the Samsung Note Edge has on the right side of the screen. The Samsung Note Edge and Samsung Note 4 are both surrounded by a metallic ring on the sides that makes them true premium phones and a pleasure to hold.

The backsides of the two titan phones are both covered in Samsung’s faux leather material. This made the Samsung Note Edge and Samsung Note 4 easy to hold use. Both their cameras, which we will address in more detail later on, are centered at the upper hand corner of the phones with the LED flash right beneath it. Right below that you get the carrier branding which in my case are the AT&T logo for the Samsung Note Edge and the Verizon Wireless logo on the Samsung Note 4. The speakers are located on the bottom left-hand corner and I found that both phones provided clear and pleasurable sound. You won’t be using them as your go to music setup but if are alone somewhere and just need to hear your class notes you recorded, these speakers will get the job done.

[df-subtitle]Internal Specifications [/df-subtitle]

Both the Samsung Note 4 and Samsung Note Edge have a 2.7 GHz quad-core processor, have 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. If you feel like 32 GB is a measly amount then fortunately for you both phones offer microsd card support up to 128 GB of additional storage. The Samsung Note 4 does have a slight upper hand depending on your country and carrier as it also has a 1.9 octa-core processor model. Both phones are monsters when it comes down to internal hardware. With so much power, it was a slight surprise to see a minimal amount of lag but that can be attributed to the TouchWiz skinned launcher that comes on both phones. That was quickly fixed though by going into the developer setting and lowering the animation speeds to .5.

Moving on to what makes Samsung’s Note line so interesting, the S Pen. Both phones have the iconic stylus pen sheathed on the bottom right of the phone where it is safely secured so you don’t accidentally lose it. Taking out the S Pen requires a small amount of effort which just reinforced the fact that the stylus is secured in place with no intentions of coming out when you go for a run or are talking on the phone. Both pens are almost identical except for the color. The Samsung Note 4 sticks with a dark gray color scheme and the Samsung Note Edge a white color scheme.

[df-subtitle]Display[/df-subtitle]

The Samsung Note 4 and Samsung Note Edge differ only slightly where the display is concerned. The Samsung Note 4 comes with a 5.7 QHD Super AMOLED display while the Samsung Note Edge has a 5.6 QHD Super AMOLED screen. As you can see the only difference is that the Samsung Note 4 has a .1 bigger screen size compared to that of the Samsung Note Edge. Both phones utilize Samsung’s famous Super AMOLED display technology which made the displays stunning to look at. Colors were vibrant and blacks were rich and deep. Stepping outside I was able to keep using my phone with the sun shining down without having to turn up the brightness all the way up. This is a great plus for me as I tend to run around a lot and having to mess around with the brightness settings is always a hassle.

[blockquote author=””]The display on both the Note 4 and Note Edge was one of the best ones that we have tested on a smartphone to date[/blockquote]

Now let’s take a look at the frame of the display itself. Samsung took a very different approach when it came to designing the screen of the Samsung Note Edge. Instead of keeping with the flat square look of modern smartphones they opted instead to form a slight curve on the right side of the screen. I was a bit surprised when it was announced and now having used it I can say that it is, different. Not bad per se, but neither good. During my review period, I found that it was basically a place to place the bottom dock. So now instead of all your icons being on the bottom they are on the curved side. I must say that I did not care for it in the beginning, but I began to warm up to it as time went on. It really is one of those things that you are either going to like or hate.

[df-subtitle]Battery Performance [/df-subtitle]

The Samsung Note 4 has a 3220 mAh battery while the Samsung Note Edge has a slightly smaller 3000 mAh battery. Both phones are going to last you through the day with moderate usage, but I was able to get some more life out of the Samsung Note Edge by an hour or so. The difference is not enough to really be enough to sway you one way or the other but still worth noting.

[df-subtitle]Camera[/df-subtitle]

Camera wise, both smartphones performed as a smartphone camera should. For the rear shooter, you are given a 16 MP camera with OIS on both phones and on the front a 3.7 MP camera. The Samsung Note 4 and Samsung Note Edge were both able to take some great stills both indoors and out. The video came out clear and crisp with just a bit of grain noticeable when taking videos in darker settings. As the old adage goes, the best camera is the one you have on you. Both cameras took great stills and videos are going to be able to satisfy all but the most hardcore photographers.

[df-subtitle]Special Features[/df-subtitle]

The Samsung Note Edge and Samsung Note 4 run Android 4.4 Kitkat with the TouchWiz interface on top. Samsung is known for the various amounts of software that it includes with its smartphones and most of it is quite nice. Starting off with the most noticeable apps you are given S Health, S Voice, and S Note. S Health is for all of you health junkies out there that like to keep all of your health goals under one app. Here you will find the ability to track your steps, running speed and health rate among other things. The S Note is of course for use with the S Pen. I really like the fact that you can bring up the S Note app to make quick memos by pulling out the Pen and pressing the button on the side. That way you are always able to take quick notes when inspiration hits or you need to jot down your grocery list really fast. The S Note app has many other little abilities that are there to help you stay organized though I can’t really say you are likely to use them all. It is nice to have options though. Then you have the S Voice app. It is basically a voice-activated assistant that can take various voice commands to complete simple tasks. You can bring up apps, play music, send a text message and make phone calls. Basically Google voice, with a Samsung twist to it.

You also have the multi-window ability that became one of the staples of owning a Samsung Android smartphone. That way you can watch that funny YouTube video everyone is talking about while at the same time letting everyone know you are watching it so you remain in the loop and cool. Motion Gestures are still present and allow you to answer your phone, silence it and other neat things just by moving the device.

[df-subtitle]Final Thoughts[/df-subtitle]

As you have probably noticed by now, the Samsung Note Edge and Samsung Note 4 are very similar devices with only minute differences keeping them apart. One can even argue that the only real difference between the Samsung Note 4 and the Samsung Note Edge is the fact that the Note Edge has a curved screen, while the Note 4 does not. Other than that, there is really nothing else that can truly stand out in either smartphones favor. So which one is better? Well, that is really a difficult question to answer, as we all have different preferences when it comes to smartphones. If you want a phone with a large screen and great battery life, then the Samsung Note 4 is the way to go. For those of you that are willing to sacrifice battery life (by only a little bit) for a more interesting take on smartphones screens, then you might be more satisfied with the Samsung Note Edge. So, which one do you prefer? Make sure to let us know in the comment section below and remember to follow the links below to get some more information regarding the Samunsung Note 4 and the Samsung Note Edge.

Juan is an avid Android enthusiast who loves anything technology oriented. He is thrilled to work with such a great team of people to help deliver the latest Android news and product reviews. When he is not scouring the internet for new post ideas, he is up late studying to finish his CS degree. Make sure to follow him to stay up to date on the latest Android news!

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